Opposition politicians have a lesson to learn from the recent student union elections held at the nation's State-owned universities. Independent and opposition students have clinched the bulk of seats at most universities, which used to be strongholds of the Islamists. The defeat was particularly stinging for students belonging to the ruling Muslim Brotherhood, who emerged with meagre gains in key institutions such as the universities of Cairo, Alexandria, Ain Shams and Helwan. Paradoxically, the hotly contested polls were held on the basis of regulations purportedly drafted by student unions dominated by Islamists. The elections were also contested by nascent liberal powers such as those of the Constitution Party founded by the opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei and the Popular Current launched by the former presidential contender Hamdeen Sabahi. The opposition greeted the campus results as signalling the emergence of a new influential student movement in Egypt. All the same, the key lesson from the elections has yet to dawn on the opposition leaders. Independent and liberal students vied in the elections, unfazed by the power of their Islamist rivals or the rules of the polls. The winners can now proceed to revamp the student regulations, which they deem unfair and biased towards Islamists. Thus, the keyword was participation. The opposition outside the campus continues to lag behind in terms of street influence and vigorous political engagement. The secular-minded opposition, led by the National Salvation Front (NSF), has announced it will boycott the forthcoming parliamentary elections, after the administration of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi failed to guarantee that the vote would be fair and free. The NSF, a bloc of liberal and leftist groups, last week hardened its stance against the possibility of standing for Parliament, after Morsi's office appealed against a court verdict scrapping the call for the election. The presidency had earlier promised not to challenge the ruling. On the surface, the odds seem stacked against the opposition, given Islamists' enormous organisational skills and grassroots base of supporters. But a closer look at the situation will show that the opposition is in a good position. The Muslim Brotherhood, who won nearly half of the now-dissolved legislature's seats, are suffering an image crisis after their disappointing performance and a perceived power monopoly. The ruling Islamists' failure to grapple with a festering economic crisis and re-establish street security are adding to their woes at the ballot box. Nonetheless, the opposition appears too lazy and diffident to do its homework. Its leaders seem complacent about giving press conferences and appear on TV talk shows to heap criticism on the governing Islamists. And that's all. They are reluctant to reach out to the ordinary people across Egypt, in order to learn about their problems firsthand and suggest viable solutions. As things stand, holding parliamentary elections in the presence of an Islamist-led government may raise doubts about transparency of the vote. However, the opposition's insistence on boycotting the polls is self-defeating and diminishes the chances for democratic change. The grey-haired opposition politicians have to take their cue from university students and thoroughly study the reasons for the recent U-turn on campus.
